And then after Panetta said the public was likely to see the picture, Obama reverses course and decides he doesn't want to make terrorists angry.
Panetta's opinion has no bearing, and serves as no indication, on what the President was, or was not, going to do. (Not releasing the photo is the right call, btw)
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr.
There were also reports yesterday it was being prepared for release. All that happened without indication of what Obama was going to do?
Nevermind, I don't want to have some stupid inconclusive argument if he changed his mind or not. If he did I don't even care, I change my mind often. I just want the picture.
Civilized?... We are fighting wars on several fronts, and are using finances to fund or support other brutal dictators which oppress people.... we just assassinated someone, by entering another nation and tracking him down... we sentence and put many people to death, and our prisons are over flowing ... we LOVE violence almost as much as we love acting as if we are above it all.... how are we "above" torture???? We did it in Vietnam and WWII (don't fool yourself).... We are MANY things, some wonderful, some terrible.... but one thing we are NOT .. is civilized!
yeah Obama was first thought of bombing the mansion good thing he changed his mind use your imagination :grin:
And I don't. In my opinion, it was a good decision. Sure, it may leak someday, and probably will, but why muddy a great moment by having that b*stard's ugly mug, blown all to hell, plastered on the front cover of every tabloid, the front pages of magazines, newspapers, on cable news... and then have to watch marching fools carrying placards of it in the Middle East and elsewhere? We killed him. I have absolutely no doubt of that. That's what matters to me. You should get out more. Do some traveling. See the world. Yeah, we're civilized. As civilized as one could expect in the age we live in.
To me it would mean closure. We saw pictures of all of these dead terrorists and no great attacks came from it.
If you believe the USA is capable of faking/lying about osama's death, then i don't understand why a picture makes a difference. Wouldn't you think they're capable of faking the picture too?
Ultimately, the pictures will leak. Just not through "official" government sources. In the meantime, everyone's bloodlust for gore can be satiated over at crime-scene-photos.com.
how is "not seeing pictures of all of these dead terrorists and no great attacks came from it" be any different?
I don't know what world you live in.... wanting something to be true does not make it so. Accept what we are, the good and the bad... we are terribly civilized, and it is part of what makes us as great as we are.
It's an honest difference of opinion, but others agree with me: "My initial opinion is it's not necessary (to release the photos)," said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as he emerged from a classified military briefing about the raid. "I think there is ample proof that this is Osama bin Laden." Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, agreed, adding: "I don't think that the timing is such that something incendiary is the right thing to do." Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement earlier in the day urging the President not to release the photos. In an interview with CBS News, he explained his position. "To treat Osama bin Laden like he's some trophy of the United States for public gloating I think is wrong," he said. "And it makes it more difficult for an average soldier a sergeant in the Army in Ghazni province in Afghanistan to solicit the help and cooperation of villagers who may or may not be friendly to the United States." http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20059800-503544.html
I have traveled a great deal.. have my whole life... and I disagree, we are not anymore civilized than a number of other places, we just like to think we are... because it makes us feel better I presume.... Also, the biggest difference between us and a number of other places on this planet is poverty... We like to say we are above murder, terrorism, supporting brutal dictatorships, slavery, war or any number of things.... but history shows otherwise. We are unique in our praise of the individual and individualism, but that is not the same as civility... and the flip-side to individuality is selfishness and arrogance.
I guess it depends upon your expectations, and definitions of what civilized is or isn't. I think the USA is one of the most civilized countries in the world. And sometimes, the only way to deal with the riff raff is to get into the muck and mire alongside of them and slap em around a bit. DD
I agree, we don't live in a utopia... sometimes we have to do things that are not terribly civilized.
